Protocol Cigars

Protocol Cigars

Protocol is the main offering from Cubariqueño Cigar Company, one of the hottest boutique brands to hit the market in recent times. The company, pronounced cuba-ree-kehn-yo (the combination of Cuba and Puertorriqueño), is named for co-founders Juan Cancel and Bill Ives and their respective heritages.

Both Juan and Bill have long-since been prominent members in the premium cigar community, being some of the first members (and later Hall of Fame inductees) of the Cigar Dojo app/community. In addition, Juan became known for organizing the annual Port Authority Police Hispanic Society Cigar Night Out Charity Fundraiser, where the event repeatedly attracted the biggest names in the cigar world.

But in 2015, the duo set out to fulfill their dreams of creating cigars of their own. Teaming with Erik Espinosa and his burgeoning La Zona factory in Estelí, Cubariqueño debuted their first cigar—Protocol—at IPCPR 2015, occupying a humble corner of the Espinosa Premium Cigars booth.

Inspired by Juan and Bill's backgrounds in law enforcement, Protocol has gained a steady, die-hard following of fans, due to the charismatic personalities of its founders, as well as the small-batch consistency between each line of cigars. Cubariqueño has built a solid foundation for the craft cigar enthusiast and now smokers everywhere have the opportunity to see what all the fuss is about!